The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has slammed Home Minister Umar Naseer’s “irresponsible” remarks concerning the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan and death threats sent to journalists and politicians.

Moreover, police arrested four suspects in relation to Rilwan’s alleged abduction, of which one suspect has been held in remand detention for nearly six weeks.

During Thursday’s press conference, Naseer compared Rilwan’s case with the assassination of American President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

“Not every crime is solvable. And when a crime remains unsolved, it does not mean police were negligent. We are doing all we can in Rilwan’s case. We will not leave any stone unturned,” the home minister told reporters.

Rilwan has been missing for 92 days and is believed to have been abducted at knifepoint outside his apartment at 2am on August 8.

Naseer also criticised the opposition for prematurely concluding that Rilwan was abducted.

Rilwan’s family have meanwhile accused the police of negligence and filed a complaint with the Police Integrity Commission,which is currently being investigated.

“If the abduction had been investigated immediately at the right time, the police would have been able to find the victim and clarify if it is our brother or not,” Rilwan’s sister Mariyam Fazna told the press earlier this month.

Despite eyewitnesses having reported the abduction at knifepoint at 2am on August 8, police only took their statements on August 14, the family noted. The police had also failed to track down and search the car used in the abduction.

The police only searched Rilwan’s apartment 29 hours after the abduction was reported and searched his office 11 days afterwards. The police also failed to make a public announcement on Rilwan’s disappearance – despite a request by the family – and did not inform the public on how to act if they had any information related to the case, the family explained further.

The People’s Majlis last week threw out a 5,055 signature petition urging MPs to pressure police for a through and speedy investigation. The parliament secretariat later admitted the rejection was “a mistake,” according to MP Imthiyaz Fahmy who sponsored the petition.